With over 30 years of international mining experience in Bulgaria, Australia and Armenia and several leadership roles within Dundee Precious Metals, Iliya Garkov continues to drive innovation. Rising through the ranks Iliya continues to consistently make significant contributions that bring the operations he manages world-class recognition. As Vice President and Managing Director for Bulgaria, accountable for both Chelopech and Krumovgrad, Iliya’s focus has been to maximize operational efficiency by providing the required management support and developing high performance teams. While inspiring the implementation of human capital best practices Iliya also brings safety culture to the forefront.

Succeeding to make prominent changes to the mining methods and the organisation culture, he brought the Chelopech mine to the forefront of the global mining industry. By continuously encouraging transformation and raising operational efficiency and safety awareness levels, Iliya ensures Chelopech stays ahead of the tech curve. The mine became the first to collaborate and apply in-practice a fully-autonomous aerial robot underground.

Iliya Garkov’s role as Vice President and General Manager of Dundee Precious Metals Krumovgrad was instrumental in 2013 when Dundee Precious Metals’ second project in Bulgaria was struggling to progress. His understanding of the social and cultural environment in Krumovgrad solidified important stakeholder relationships and helped accelerate the approval process for multiple project permits. This made it possible for the Ada Tepe mine in Krumovgrad to become the first successful green mine developed over the last 40 years in Bulgaria and begin commercial production in 2019.